1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to managing a service and, in particular, to a method and system for early detection and generation of service requests. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and system for generating a service request based on information identified in a discussion forum.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today's service providers have different ways of obtaining the information necessary to effectively manage their services for their customers. Different methods may be used to obtain new customers, retain current customers, and improve on the quality of services offered. In today's competitive marketplace, service providers are constantly searching for ways to efficiently identify potential customers and to improve response time to meet customers' needs.
Some service providers manage their services by responding to service requests. A service request includes information that informs the service provider about details regarding the service needed by a customer. For example, an information technology service that provides services for computers may receive a service request from a customer who is experiencing an unusually slow response time from a software application. The service request may include information about the customer's computer, such as the model, amount of memory, and processor speed. The customer may provide the service request in a variety of ways, such as by phone or email.
Service providers that implement service requests may require a quick identification of relevant information for providing the appropriate service to a customer, in order to meet the service level agreements (SLAs). A typical service request often includes only a portion of the information necessary for a service provider to respond with an appropriate service.
Additionally, relying on customers to provide service requests to address problems has disadvantages. For example, a problem that requires service may exist for a considerable amount of time before a customer creates a service request to fix the problem. Moreover, other potential customers may have been experiencing the problem for a considerable amount of time. For example, a software application hosted by a server and shared by multiple users over a network may experience a decrease in performance for several hours before a customer finally creates a service request to inform a service provider of the problem.